Can The Fifth Enlargement Weaken The EU's Development Cooperation? Jean Monnet/Robert Schuman Paper Series Vol.5 No. 24 August 2005

Granell, Francisco. (2005) Can The Fifth Enlargement Weaken The EU's Development Cooperation? Jean Monnet/Robert Schuman Paper Series Vol.5 No. 24 August 2005. [Working Paper]

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Abstract

[From the introduction]. The European Union (EU) agreed at the European Council meeting in Copenhague on 13 December 2002 to admit 10 new members from Central Europe and the Mediterranean who meet the political and economic criteria for membership: stable democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law. As full market economies they will implement all the EU’s common rules and policies. After membership in accordance with the Athens Treaty and Act of Accession signed on April 16, 2003, the new member states of the EU will participate actively in the Acquis Communautaire regulating all areas of the Community action in accordance with the solutions and adaptations negotiated with the new member states on the basis of the principle of a wholesale taking over of the acquis but subject to transitional measures and temporary derogations as in earlier accession acts (Boos and Forman, 1995) (Granell,1995). Development has not been a contentious issue in the accession negotiation process and for this reason the subject has not received a lot of attention, even if with this evolution the new members accept the process of change from being a recipient of development assistance into being a international donor. The main reason of this limited interest in the topic is the fact that Development co-operation of the accession countries have been practically negligible until now. The new member states represent about 25% of the EU population, about 5% of the EU income (about 11% in purchasing power parity terms) but only 0,43% of the Aid flows from the EU to developing countries. Formal negotiations on the chapter related to development cooperation (Chapter 26 – External Relations) have been closed with no exceptions agreed, therefore the new candidates will apply the relevant Community acquis and enforce the legal and institutional framework of the “Development cooperation Acquis” as an integral part of the EU’s external policies from the very first day of membership.

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